Sweden's PM says Europe risks becoming a 'museum'

Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told at the the Techarena event in Stockholm on February 20 that Europe risks turning into a “museum” because of lagging behind in the field of advanced technologies, including in the field of artificial intelligence. This was reported by BelTA citing CNBC.

According to him, Europe should soften strict curbs on artificial intelligence technologies.

"I think we really need to step up in Europe ... the American economy, Chinese economy have been growing far faster compared to the European economies over the last 20 years," Prime Minister said.

"If we don’t change that, Europe will actually become some kind of a museum compared to other parts of the world,” he noted. "To be able to compete in the new geopolitical context, Europe needs to become a place where business and innovation can thrive. As it stands now, we’ve got companies having troubles using the latest technology due to uncertainties with the European legislation, companies founded in Europe relocating to the U.S. due to the lack of access to capital," added Kristersson.

Kristersson's voice joins a chorus of European leaders who spoke at the Paris AI Action Summit last week, stressing the need for the region become a more competitive player in the global AI race.

Earlier, the U.S. Vice President JD Vance went on tirade at Europe, arguing officials in the continent have become too heavily focused on regulating AI instead of embracing its growth potential. Vance said that the U.S. wants its European allies to foster a more favorable attitude to the technology than it has done to date. "We need international regulatory regimes that fosters the creation of AI technology rather than strangles it, and we need our European friends in particular to look to this new frontier with optimism rather than trepidation," Vance told attendees at the Paris summit.

The EU recently enacted an AI law, which is a comprehensive set of rules aimed at protecting against AI risks.

Technology and business Techarena event is held in in Stockholm 20-21 February.